DDR MFS

I am so glad I am not crazy... Again, life long manual driver, had a Cayman S (987.1) so had a Porsche experience already, and this clutch/feel is so vague to me. Starting from a stop in first has led to some pretty pants-soiling experiences between awful DMV traffic, and frustration of thinking that I don't know what I am doing. The bite point just feels vague, and I feel like I have to dump the throttle to get anything remotely smooth off a stop.

Having some major work done on the car in the next week (suspension, spark plugs, ignition coils, fluids) and going to ask my mechanic about removing this spring since the car will already be in a state of disassembly. This combined with a full suspension refresh, new engine bits, and some much needed body work (courtesy of a construction hauler ejecting a metal foot plate), will hopefully make the care feel factory fresh with some more precision in several areas.

saveferris199

@DDR MFS Do as you please, I will caution against this. I bought my 04 C4s with the helper spring removed (wasn't aware of this when I purchased). I had my indie put the helper spring back in. It is about 90% easier to compress the clutch with the helper spring and that is not an exaggeration. I sure wouldn't want any traffic to drive in with it removed. Also, my 2nd gear synchro is going bad and I'll probably need a tranny rebuild. Without the helper spring in, I'd imagine you are naturally going to have a lot more wear on the synchro(s) thanks to the driver engaging the clutch faster/decreasing the ability to control clutch engagement with all the weight of the clutch without the helper spring.

Kaychub

I second this, I'm on my second 911, I have an 06 C2 now that came with the helper spring untouched, my previous car was an 07 C2S with a nightmarishly hard clutch pedal. I didn't notice this till I started dailying the car in stop and go traffic it was painful. After some research I read about people removing this for better clutch action and I looked under there and yep! No helper spring, so I bought one and installed it, the difference was night and day. People that track their cars find this extremely helpful, but if you daily your car, it will be extremely painful, except you have legs like Thor.

Type65

I daily drive mine in traffic and still would never put that damn spring back in. It is awful and makes the clutch so vague. If you control the clutch properly with your leg you aren't going to be letting it out any faster unless you wanted to and shouldn't be causing any extra wear on the synchros or any other part of the gearbox. Removing that spring honestly has made the car so much more enjoyable to drive. Also, I don't know if the later cars are different, but on my '99 the clutch pedal is still much lighter than most classic muscle cars.

IMO this is the single greatest value mod for a 996.

sirhodjibob

Throwing this out there as removing this spring is advised against on BMW forums.

This spring is what helps the clutch return to position...without the spring, you are now relying on the master cylinder and hydraulic pressure for the clutch pedal to return, and over time the pedal will not fully return to stock, putting pressure on the seals in the hydraulic system.

I am not an expert, but would advise some research before doing this

SRMPDX

My spring was already removed when I bought the car so I thought the clutch was supposed to be like that. One mechanic thought it might need a new clutch because it felt hard to push . I've never driven another 996 so I had not frame of reference. My only complaint is that it makes cruise control not function correctly because there's no spring to push back on the switch, and the clutch pedal rattles sometimes, which was really annoying until I figured it out (thought it was the front window or dash rattling). I can get the CC to work and the rattle to stop by placing my foot under the clutch pedal but that's uncomfortable. I think I might install one with a lighter spring. The pedal feel is heavy but I've never felt like it was too much

Type65

It would be interesting to see if the issues you mentioned are associated with different years or shape of the clutch hydraulics or what the difference is, because it seems very split between people with issues and people without. I personally have zero issues on my 3/98 build that had the 993 style spring. The clutch pedal returns to the normal height, never rattles, and my CC works just fine.

Type65

It would be interesting to see if the issues you mentioned are associated with different years or shape of the clutch hydraulics or what the difference is, because it seems very split between people with issues and people without. I personally have zero issues on my 3/98 build that had the 993 style spring. The clutch pedal returns to the normal height, never rattles, and my CC works just fine.

hatchetf15

I also had the stock spring in for a long time and didn’t think the clutch release point was easy to find/anticipate either, so I pulled out the spring and ran that way for two years. My wife wasn’t as found of the heavier clutch as I was, so I when I happened upon a thread that mentioned using the turbo’s spring, I put that in not too long ago. I personally like the Turbo spring as a happy medium.

saveferris199

When I acquired my car without the spring, my CC did not work unless I put my foot behind the clutch and pulled it toward me while setting the cruise. Unfortunately I didn't make that discovery until after my 12 hour drive home from picking up the car. SOmeone else posting above indicated they had to do the same thing in order to get the CC to work.

saveferris199

I guess RE: finding the clutch engagement point -- that seems to be why anyone who has removed the spring and likes it wants to remove it... Does it really make any difference whether the spring is in or not on how easy it is to find the point of engagement? after driving any manual car regularly for a week, I'd think you would know where the clutch engages without even consciously thinking about it. If you really had to 'learn' where it is, go to a parking lot and let out the clutch as slow as you can with no gas and see when the car starts rolling... the clutch engagement point isn't going to change over time so once you know where it is, why would there be any confusion? just my .02...

GC996

To my surprise the helper spring fell off on the track at Road America around 12 years ago. Didn't know what was rolling around at my feet and then exited.

My indy who was at the track told me what it was and that I really didn't need it. So I didn't replace it for 5 year + time period until my kids started learning how to drive a stick. They had a tough time with the "either in or out" heavy aspect of the clutch. I loved it without the spring. Never gave it a second thought until my kids were wrestling with it and I had a new one installed.

Probably will take it off next season due to many of the reasons the guys are suggesting which is a better feel. But sure, if you aren't used to a heavier clutch and you do alot of stop and go driving, it may not be something you will like. But you can always put it back on.

As a side note, I had no idea that CC didn't work when it was out. Never really use CC.

Johnny DB

I may be an odd ball but when I removed it on my 2009 Turbo I just really didn’t like it. The heavy ness was fine but I’ve never stalled the car more. I was nervous everything I had to take off from a stop. So I put it back in and I’m happy although I would the the clutch stiffness

DDR MFS

Any one here take the spring out and replace it with an OEM spring (or similar) and get better results? Just wondering as iterative processes can also have their benefits. I saw the turbo spring suggestion as well.

I guess you don't know until you try it.

GC996

Guess it depends on what you call better results. I ran mine with the spring for years until it broke and fell out. Didn't give the feel of the clutch much thought when the original spring was in the car.

When it broke and fell off on the track, I immediately felt the heaviness. Wasn't a good or bad heaviness, it just took a bit more leg effort to work it. But I liked it. Their was no riding the clutch, it was either in or out. Much crisper shifting.

When I put a new oem spring back in years later, I couldn't believe how easy it was to work, too easy in fact. But I couldn't tell you if there was any difference in feel between my original oem spring and the new oem spring due it it being so long ago.

You can always take out the spring helper, see if you like it and if not, you can always put it back in. No cost for parts, just service costs if you aren't a wrencher. Sounds like the turbo is in between.